Machinery foe



4MICHAEL H. SIMPSON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINERY FOR COMBING "IO 0L.

Specification of VLetters Patent No. 16,864, dated March 17, `1857.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, MICHAEL H. SIMP` soN, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Machinery forCombing Vool or Various other FibrousSubstances; and I do hereby declare that the same is fully described andrepresented in the following :specification and the accompanyingdrawings,of which- Figure l, exhibits a top view of the main frame of mymachine and several of lhe operative parts applied thereto. Fig. 2, anelevation of one side of it. Fig. 3, an elevation of its other side.Fig. l, a `frontend elevation of it. Fig. 5, a transverse and verticalsection taken just in front of the fringe belt of said machine. Figs. 6and 7, are top= views of some of the mechanism used for impartingvertical motions to the draw' rollers, as well as to the bobbin on thespindle of the flier, the parts to which such ligures refer, beingexhibited in the other figures.

My invention has reference to a wool combing machine, which was`invented by Samuel Couillard and was the subject of a patent granted tohim by the United States Commissioner of Patents on the 7th day of JulyA. D. 1835: I having made sundry important improvements thereon. Theprincipal elements of such machine, or the combination invented by thesaid CouillardV consisted of a feeding apron, one or two cardingcylinders, a combing belt, a curved plate arranged between the main cardAcylinder `and said combing belt, a fringe belt, a condenser tube, drawrollers, reel or bobbin and a drum for receiving the sliver. While Iret-ain most of these features or -mechanical contrivances, I haveconnected therewith certain valuable and important addi-` tions orimprovements which will be `here-l inafter particularly specified anddescribed.

In the first place, I employ a main card cylinder, as shown at A, in thedrawings, such` as is usually employed in machinery for carding wool,and I provide such with an endless feeding apron, B, and a pair of feedrollers C, D, arranged as seen in the drawings. Between such feedrollers, and

the main card cylinder, A, I make use of a card cylinder F, which I term`the licker in, its object being to transfer the `fibrous material fromthe feeding rollers to the main card cylinder, A. To such card cylf`inder, I apply a series of workers F, F, F, and :a series of strippersG, G, G, arranged asseen in Figs. 2 and 3, I also apply to said cardcylinder, what is termed by carders, a fancy 77Kcard cylinder H, `thesame `being' `arranged as seen -in Figs. 2 and 3.

In front Lof the `main card cylinder, `I dispose a combing doffercylinder, I, above which I place a clearing fancy or card cylinder, K,such combing doer and `clearing fancy having been used in the machine ofthe said Couillard. Between the combing dozffer I, and the main cardcyl- `inder, AI arrange as seen in F igs. l, 2, and 3, another doifer,L, and a stripper M, the doifer L, being employed to remove the fibrousmaterial from the `main card cylinder A, and lay vit on the doifer, I.The stripper M, takes the surplushbrous material from the doer L, andtransfers it to the combingdoffer I.

The object I have in view in employing the -extra doffer, L, `and thestripper M, in combination with the main card cylinder and the combingdoifer I, is to enable me to rotate the latter `at such a moderate speedas will prevent it from breaking or `tearing away the teeth of thehorizontal combing belt N, arranged in front of and operating with thedoffer, I, such belt being placed Vand made to `work around two pulleysC, P, `disposed as shown in Figs. l, 3 and 5. Although while the machineis in operation, the speed of the combingdoifer I, is about three:"hunderd turns, or less in a minute that Aof the main card cylinder isnot `far from `one hundred `revolutions in such time, yet owing to`their difference of size, ithe speed of the dolfer would have to bematerially increased in order that its cylindricior card surface may runat a greater speed `than that of the cylinder A, for were ithe doifermade to :act directly against the .card cylinder A, and so as to`properly re- :move the fibrous material therefrom, asv a ,generalthing, the speed of the doifer, would Ihave to be so great, as to causethe said 'doffer to damage the combing belt, N. In order to avoid thisand impart to the doifer, I, a proper speed, I employ anotherdoffer, 1L,`and a stripper, M, as described.

Directly between the `combing doier, I, and the endless combingbelt, N,I apply or arrange a curved guard plate, R, the same being made toextend from one end to the other of the doft'er, I, and with respect tothe same and the endless band or belt N, as seen in Figs. 1, and 3. Thisplate forms one side of a hollow steam chest or box S, arranged betweenthe cylinder and belt, and provided with some means by which heat may beintroduced into it. For convenience of heating said steam box, so as toheat the plate R, steam may be introduced into it, by a pipe T, whichmay be lead into said box S, from a steam boiler or generator. For thepurpose of moistening the wool, said box may have sundry small holesarranged in suitable parts of it, steam being discharged through saidholes directly upon the wool. The purpose, however, of such steam box,is more particularly to apply heat to the wool, by heating the teeth ofthe doffer I, than it is to moisten said woolbut as sometimes it may bedesirable to impart more or less moisture to it, I have thought itproper to suggest how such might be accomplished. Heating the wool whenon the doffer, serves to improve it, or enable it to be operated upon tomuch better advantage.

There are various other modes by which the curved guard R, may beheated, instead of having steam directly applied to it as hereinbeforedescribed. The said guard R, by extending downward from the lower partof the teeth of the belt N, as shown in Fig. 3, serves to keep thefibrous material,

on the teeth of the belt, in contact with the teeth of the doifer I.

Directly in advance of the combing belt N, are two draw rollers V, V,and what is termed the fringe belt W, they being arranged as shown inFigs. 1 and 5. This endless fringe belt works around two verticalrollers X, Y, and carries a series of wires or teeth a, a, extendingdown from it as seen in'Figs. 1 and 5.

It will be observed by inspection of Figs. l and 5, that the roller, U,is larger in diameter than the roller, V, and is placed or` n arrangedas close as it can be in practice to the teeth of the combing belt N,the roller V, being made of a different material and disposed at agreater distance from the belt.

I would remark, that the roller, V, should be made of hardened steel,while the roller, U, should be constructed of a more elastic yieldingmaterial, such as leather applied to a vertical metallic shaft, the tworollers bein'g fluted rollers. In practice the roller V, may be about aninch in diameter, while the roller U, has a diameter of about one inchand a half.

In using draft rollers, where each has the same diameter and is placedclose up to the combing belt, it has been found that the staple of thewool was more or less broken during the operation of drawing it from thecombing belt. As the draft is in a direction away from the pulley O, thefarther we place the roller, V, from the belt, N, the less will be thearc of surface of the roller, V, against which the fibers will lay andbe bound or compressed; and the nearer we carry the roller, U toward thebelt, the more we diminish the aforesaid arc. Consequently, making thetwo rollers of different sizes and arranging them together as describedwith respect to the belt, N, is a matter of great import-ance, as by it,I am enabled to effect a great improvement in the operation of themachine-such not only permitting a larger roving to be drawn, butallowing the same to pass between the rollers, in a manner less liableto injure the fibers, in comparison to what would take place were therollers of equal size and arranged in the common way.

The rollers may be made of equal diameters and the roller, V, bearranged at a greater distance from the combing belt, than the roller U.It is better, however, to make a difference in the size of the rollersas described.

I have denominated the toothed belt, W, the fringe belt, in order todistinguish it from the combing belt N, although said latter belt hassometimes been, and in the Specification ofthe said Couillards patent,is termed the fringe belt. Instead of causing the wires or teeth, a, a,to work entirely above a smooth metallic table, Z, (see Figs. 1 and 5,)I arrange said table so that the wires may extend somewhat below it aswell as above it, and work through a slot or passage lc made in saidtable, or between the said table and the combing belt; this serving notonly -to prevent the teeth from injury, but to carry along the fringe ofthe wool more perfectly toward the drawrollers.

In practice the fringe belt, VV, has been found to accumulate upon itswires quantities of wool, such operating to interfere more or less, withthe correct action of the draw rollers, Z, V. In order to obviate thisdifficulty, I combine with said belt a rotary clearer or brush, d,arranged with respect to the fringe belt as seen in Figs. 1, 4L, and 5,the same being put in rotation so as to brush or clear off the surpluswool from the wires, a, a, as they pass around in contact with it, andthus is saved the attention and labor of an attendant, who during theoperation of the original or Couillard machine has generally beenemployed to pick such wool, from the belt. From the draw rollers, U andV, the roving or sliver seen at e, in Figs. 1, and, 4, is carriedthrough an endless condenser belt, f, arranged as seen in the drawings,and made to run over i and upon the top surface of. a standard, y, thesaid condenser belt being caused to perform two functions, viz, that oftwisting or condensing the sliver, e, and that of conveying motion tothe shaft of the brush el. From the belt, f, the sliver, e, is carriedbetween the guide rollers, h, z', and thence through the neck, 7s, of aflier, Z, Z, it being carried down either of the legs of said flier inguides m, m, and to a bobbin, n, placed on the spindle of said flier.The object of the flier is to twist the roving and wind it up on thesaid bobbin; and for this purpose, the bobbin should have suitablevertical movements imparted to it whereby, during the revolutions of theflier, the roving may be properly packed or laid on the bobbin, in orderthat the mass when completed may have a cylindrical or any other desiredform.

A is a revolving toothed wheel arranged and applied to the combing beltN, as seen in the drawings. The object of such toothed wheel is toremove from the teeth of the revolving comb tlfe short fibers and knobbyportions of the wool, which remain on said combing belt, after thelonger fibers have been withdrawn from it by the action of the drawrollers, U, V. Such toothed wheel constitutes one of the material partsof the Couillard machine.

Although I have represented in the drawings, mechanism, such as I haveemployed for imparting to the bobbin its suitable vertical movements onthe flier spindle, and the mechanism for moving the draw rollers vertically, yet I do not deem such as making part of my invention, but asmore properly matters of construction, intending to elnploy any suitablemechanism for so operating the bobbin and draw rollers. Furthermore,although, I have represented in such drawings, various belts, pulleys,gears, and other mechanical devices, for the purpose of imparting to themain operative parts of the machine, their movements, I deem such asmatters of construction more than invention and as capable of beingmodified and otherwise arranged as circumstances may require.

I have confined my description more particularly to a simple enumerationand short explanation of the material parts or members of the machine ofthe said Couillard, particularly specifying and representing suchadditions as constitute my invention, and which may be termedimprovements on the original machine, showing by arrows, the directionsin which most of the operative parts are moved. p

The genera-l operation of the machine, does not vary essentially fromthat of the machine of the said Couillard. There is one importantdifference, however, the same being found in the winding apparatus. Inthe Couillard machine, either a reel or a can was employed to receivethe roving, the reel being made in the form of a bobbin. In addition tothe bobbin, I employ a flier, and this for the purpose of twisting theroving as well as winding it on the bobbin, thereby rendering themechanism more perfect and useful in its action.

In operating with this machine,I the wool or fibrous material, as in theoriginal machine of Couillard, is spread upon the endless apron B, andby means of the feed rollers and a licker in it is taken from said apronand transferred to the main cylinder A, and during the revolutions ofthe same, the fibrous material is subjected to the action of the workersand strippers, situated above said card cylinder. Next, by means of theeXtra doifer L, and stripper, M, .it is removed from the main cardcylinder and laid upon the combing doffer, I, by which it is thrown uponand among the teeth of the revolving comb N. From the latter, the longerfibers are drawn by the drawn rollers U, V, and from thence in the formof a sliver, they pass through the condensing belt, f, thence betweenthe rollers, 71 i, and into the neck of the flier, and are finally woundupon the bobbin.

The proper modes of arranging the card teeth or the clothing of thevarious carding drums or cylinders will be understood by persons skilledin mechanism for carding and combing wool.

Having thus described my improved machine, what I claim therein is asfollows:

1. The combination and arrangement of an eXtra dofl'er L, and stripperMl, (or the equivalents therefor) with the main card cylinder, thecombing doffer, I, the combing belt, N, the whole being substantially inmanner and for the purpose as hereinbefore specified.

2. I also claim the above described improved arrangement andconstruction of the draft rollers, U, V, with respectto each other andthe combing belt, N.

3. I also claim ,making the wires of the fringe belt, IV, to extendbelow the table, Z, and to run through a passage c, formed between thepart, Z, and the combing belt, or in the table as specified.

4:. I also claim combining with the curved plate, R, when such isemployed in connec- `tion with the doer, I, and the combing belt, N, asteam heating chamber, S, or other suitable means of heating such plateas set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my signature this fourth day ofApril A. D.

M. H. SIMPSON. Witnesses:

R. M. EDDY, F. P. HALE, Jr.

